April 2012 News

Is there a glimmer of hope for disgraced Illinois Governor George Ryan?

The former governor, who is serving time in federal prison for corruption charges, could benefit from the Supreme Court's Wood v. Milyard decision. Monday, the Supreme Court told the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider Ryan's honest services fraud conviction in light of the April 24 opinion.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Thursday that Christina Eilman can sue seven Chicago police officers for releasing her into a violent neighborhood where she was raped and nearly killed, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The decision brings an end to a two-year qualified immunity interlocutory appeal.

When do sanctions transcend beyond warranted to the rarefied ranks of "richly deserved"? Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook offered a little insight on that topic this week based on an attorney's botched attempt to remove an action for sanctions in a lawsuit to a federal court.

Attorney David Novoselsky, purporting to represent plaintiff MB Financial as guardian of minor Cristina Zvunca's financial interests, sued six defendants in a state court. His suit alleged, among other things, that several of the defendants had abused Zvunca.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a class action lawsuit against Shell Oil this week, finding that the company did not willfully violate the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) by printing the last four digits of customers’ account numbers on gas pump receipts, Reuters reports.

Politicos aren’t the only ones who risk losing their gigs during election seasons or political coups; their staff can also be constitutionally-canned, according to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Motion Picture Association of America has joined forced with Flava Works, a gay porn production company, in a copyright infringement lawsuit over a website that allowed users to upload embedded links to porn videos. The case is now on appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Flava Works claims that myVidster.com, a social video bookmarking site, infringed on its copyrighted material by embedding Flava Works' videos on myVidster and reaping the ad revenue rewards. Last year, a federal judge in Illinois agreed, and ruled that myVidster was not protected under Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor provision.

Some people will tell you that bar brawls add character to a neighborhood drinking hole. Wisconsin, however, classifies alcohol-fueled fisticuffs as grounds to yank an establishment's liquor license under the “disorderly house” statute.

When Eau Claire's Nasty Habit Saloon lost its liquor license in 2006, Scott Hegwood challenged the disorderly house statute, arguing that it was unconstitutionally vague as applied to the Nasty Habit. This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument, finding that face-kicking, chokeholds, and dog piles of fighting patrons epitomized a disorderly house.

While the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals continues
pondering ACLU v. Alvarez , a case challenging the
Illinois eavesdropping statute, Illinois is considering new legislation that
would give police even more power to record suspects without their consent.

Under the Illinois eavesdropping statute, a person cannot record
a conversation unless he has "the consent of all of the parties to such
conversation or electronic communication." Last week, the Illinois House of
Representatives passed a bill to amend the eavesdropping law to permit
undercover cops to make audio recordings of suspected drug dealers without a
judge's approval, reports the Chicago Tribune.

City parking tickets can result in a police harassment lawsuit, according to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Last week, a three-judge panel reinstated Mark Geinosky's lawsuit against the city of Chicago and eight Chicago cops. Geinosky claims the officers singled him out for 24 bogus parking citations over a 14-month period, reports the Chicago Tribune.

About U.S. Seventh Circuit

U.S. Seventh Circuit features news and information from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which hears appeals from U.S. District Courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. This blog also features news that would be of interest to legal professionals practicing in the 7th Circuit. Have a comment or tip? Write to us.